now - Pendle Borough Council

Pendle Council
Annual Report 2014 - 2015
Welcome
Pendle’s Annual Report for the year 2014/15.
Looking back on the last 12 months we can be proud of
what we’ve achieved despite the challenging times we
work in as funding for local councils continues to be cut.
The reduction in external grant funding for Pendle
Council has totalled almost 50% over the last four years!
Thanks to everyone pulling together
- staff, councillors, partners and
residents - we’ve continued to make
Pendle a great place in which to live,
work, play and visit.
We are finding new ways to
balance our books whilst providing the
quality services our residents deserve.
And we’re up to the challenge of doing
things differently.
It’s been a significant year for
us. Pendle and the Council jointly
celebrated our 40th birthday.
We also marked the 100th
anniversary of World War I. With help
from local residents, charities and
community groups we created new
signs at our cemeteries highlighting
the presence of war graves and 11
missing names were added to the
memorial in Market Square, Nelson.
Over the year we marked up
some major achievements, detailed in
this report, including the start of the
transformation of our iconic Brierfield
Mill into Northlight, a major destination
for the North West.
And we’ve made some significant
changes. To help the Council make
£4 million in savings over two years,
we were one of a handful of councils
in the UK to delete the post of chief
executive.
Stephen Barnes, who worked at
the Council from its very beginnings
40 years ago, decided to step down
and we used this opportunity to make
some changes and savings. Happily
he left in place a very experienced
senior team who’ve worked in
Pendle for many years and share
Stephen’s passion and ambitions for
regeneration.
We also worked on a three year
plan to transfer some of our services
and facilities. Community centres and
public toilets transferred to a number
of town and parish councils and some
local councils have shown a real
appetite to take on more. This means
more services are delivered locally and
it helps us make savings, too.
There were many high points in the
year including:
•
Independent external auditors
praising the council for giving good value for money and managing our money well
•
Reducing the number of empty
homes. In the last 12 months we’ve
brought over 500 properties back
into use including ones previously
ear-marked for demolition
•
Pendle’s re-accreditation with
Fairtrade status. In 2003 we were
the first ever borough in the UK to
achieve this thanks to working with
our community
•
Our dog warden team celebrated
their sixth successive RSPCA Gold
Footprint award for high standards
of care for stray dogs and
education programmes in schools.
In the Annual report you’ll see how
we’ve put our Strategic Objectives into
action:
•
Creating jobs, sustaining strong
economic growth and ensuring
housing meets local needs in terms
of quantity, quality and affordability
• Working with partners to sustain
accessible services of good value
at a lower cost base
•
Working to improve the health,
wellbeing and safety of our
residents and maintaining the
quality of our environment.
Councillor Mohammed Iqbal
Council Leader of Pendle Council
Dean Langton
Strategic Director
Our performance in 2014/15
Performance indicators are facts and figures
about the services we provide. They’re
collected every year to help us to evaluate how
much progress we’re making towards our aims
and objectives. They’re also used to help us
plan future work and make improvements to
services.
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
Percentage of undisputed invoices paid within
30 days
98.82%
98.62%
99.02%
Speed of processing - new Housing Benefit/
Council Tax Benefit claims: in month
22.9 days
24.9 days
19.8 days
Percentage of minor planning applications
determined within 8 weeks
77.4%
79.9%
81.25%
Reported number of missed collections not
dealt with within 1 working day
108
148
128
Percentage of household waste sent for reuse,
recycling and composting - rolling year %
35.88%
36.72%
33.39%
Improved street and environmental cleanliness
Litter
3%
2%
1%
Tackling crime and
anti-social behaviour
• Reducing violent crime, including
child sexual exploitation
Pendle is part of the Pennine
Community Safety Partnership
and we’ve also retained our own
community safety partnership for
Pendle.
• Reducing the impact of substance
misuse
In 2014/15 the Pendle Community
Safety Partnership focused on the
following priorities:
• Improving road safety
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• Reducing the harm caused by anti
social behaviour
• Tackling domestic abuse.
Things we’ve done 2014/15
Creating jobs
and sustaining
strong
economic
growth
Regeneration for Pendle
We’ve taken big strides to transform
the iconic Brierfield Mills complex
into a new destination for the North
West called Northlight.
The huge derelict Lancashire cotton mill,
occupying a seven acre site alongside
the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, was
bought by the Council in 2012, thanks
to a 100% grant from the Government.
Our joint venture company of Pendle
Council and Barnfield Investment
Properties – called PEARL - is putting
ambitious plans into action. These
include a hotel, state of the art leisure
and cultural facilities, apartments
overlooking Pendle Hill and a new
marina.
Over the year, five Government
Ministers visited Northlight including the
Secretary of State for Communities and
Local Government. They recognised
the potential of our landmark mill
for a vibrant new working, living and
cultural quarter for the whole region. We
successfully discussed plans to expand
the Government’s Assisted Area Status
Map to include key parts of Pendle. This
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will help small and large enterprises to
invest in a new future at Northlight.
And we won support from Ministers
to ensure our plans were part of the
new Lancashire Growth Deal, including
improving access to Northlight from the
M65, a vital step for project which will
create hundreds of jobs.
An announcement in July confirmed that
Pendle would get a share of a £233.9m
cash windfall from the Government’s
Single Local Growth Fund to improve
our transport and cycle links and open
up key housing and employment sites.
This year we reached another landmark,
this time in the transformation of a
historic area of Nelson – Whitefield.
The Secretary of State for Communities
and Local Government visited to see
the final stages of our ten year multimillion pound plan for a neighbourhood
once blighted by run-down and empty
homes.
The project has included the beautiful
restoration of Victorian ‘tardis’ terraces
and an attractive new linear park for the
community, opposite an ‘outstanding’
£9 million infant and nursery school.
Things we’ve done 2014/15
Through PEARL and also partnership
working with Great Places, there are
also new affordable family homes to
buy or rent in Whitefield, too.
First time buyers can live the dream
thanks to a helping hand on deposits
for contemporary new homes at Quaker
Heights and Holden Road, Brierfield.
This year the Government’s Help to
Buy scheme was made available for
new homes we’ve built in an attractive
development, in what was the historic
Lob Lane Mill.
The new three and four bedroomed
homes have been developed by PEARL,
Pendle Council’s pioneering company
with contractor, investor and developer,
Barnfield.
They’re in a prime position next to
Northlight and new buyers will only
need to provide a 5% deposit on a
property and the Government can lend
up to 20% of the value of a new home.
It means that contemporary homes are
now within reach of people buying their
first home. Some are stunning semidetached family housing with large
gardens, others are spacious three
storey four bedroom homes
overlooking the Leeds and
Liverpool Canal. At Quaker
Heights we’ve protected a
historic mill and created a
unique place for people to
live in a great location.
In December we launched a
unique project inspired
by Mary Portas,
Queen of Shops,
thanks to Nelson being selected as one
of the UK’s Portas Pilot Towns.
The new arts and vintage shop
transformed the old post office
into a creative emporium. With Arts
Council funding, it added a totally
new dimension to the town centre.
Building on the success of a series of
Arts and Vintage Markets, The Shop
is a permanent feature designed to
bring more people into Nelson and
attract students from Nelson and Colne
College, as well as selling their creative
work.
Supporting local enterprise
This year we continued to invest in
our Gearing up for Growth programme
despite the tough financial climate. We
agreed a further £500,000 investment,
including business start up grants,
support to help existing companies
to grow and be competitive and
graduate placements to encourage local
companies to take on local graduates.
We also supported a Work Inspiration
Event for pupils aged 13-14 from
Pendle’s secondary schools to try small
practical activities with businesses to
learn about their industry.
In April we introduced a new policy to
help many local businesses, including
restaurants, charity shops, pubs and
clubs, with discounted business rates
for up to two years. The discounts help
smaller businesses and those moving
into premises which have been empty
for a year or more – encouraging takeup of empty buildings and helping our
town centres to thrive.
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Our Pendle Business Awards in May,
jointly organised every two years with
the Pendle Vision Board, recognised
local businesses which are market
leaders in their field.
With awards including Most
Outstanding Business, New Business
of the Year and Young Entrepreneur of
the Year, it’s a great platform to promote
our thriving businesses and Pendle as a
great place to invest in.
Every October, local business people
are invited to a series of free workshops,
drop-ins and seminars aimed at helping
them get the best out of their business.
Focus on Your Business Month,
run every October by Pendle Council
and the Pendle Vision Board, brings
together a wide range of business
specialists covering many topics from
social media, how to import safely,
apprenticeships and business basics for
new businesses.
And at Christmas, for the first time, we
produced videos for Colne and Nelson
Markets, making traders the stars and
showing the intriguing range of goods
and services on offer, from pet portraits
to palm-reading, bookshops to locally
made pottery as well as traditional
market produce.
Over 1,000 people watched the videos
and anyone watching had the chance to
win £40 to spend at the markets in the
run up to Christmas.
Things we’ve done 2014/15
Things we’ve done 2014/15
Improving
the health,
wellbeing and
safety of our
residents
We started a new programme of free
and very low cost activities this year
to help people in Pendle get Up &
Active.
Designed to address high levels of
inactivity in parts of Pendle, the Up &
Active programme has been funded by
Lancashire County Council to improve
public health in Pendle.
It’s been proven that a little activity
every day – even 20 minutes - can
improve people’s wellbeing and even
increase life expectancy. So the Up &
Active programme offers people the
chance to take small steps to being
more active.
We’ve been working with Pendle
Leisure Trust on a programme of leisure
activities that don’t all take place in
sports centres and don’t require any
special sports kit.
Parkrun was launched as part of the
Up & Active initiative in May thanks to a
collaboration between Pendle Council
and Lancashire County Council. It’s
part of an international movement that
organises free, weekly, 5km timed
runs around the world at 9am every
Saturday!
Aimed at people of all ages, the first
run in April was a huge success and
many local volunteers came forward
to manage events in Pendle for future
parkruns.
Also as part of the Up & Active project,
families were invited to Nelson’s Victoria
Park to see work in progress to create
characters in wood for a new Vicky
Witch Trail to help young children and
families improve their activity levels.
In June, we opened a new cycle track
named in honour of Pendle’s gold
medallist, Steven Burke MBE.
7
Steven, alongside other cyclists, put the
new cycle track through its paces ahead
of our annual Pendle Cycle Festival.
And the track formed part of his training
for the Commonwealth Games in
Glasgow where Steven rode for England
for the first time.
Cycle Sport Pendle runs the track for
us, to introduce a new generation of
boys and girls to cycling. Cyclists of all
abilities including beginners are also
welcome to use the track including
people with disabilities using specially
adapted bikes, thanks to a project run
by the Pendle Leisure Trust.
The new cycle track came about
thanks to a great team effort between
Pendle Council, cycling clubs and local
schools. The group won £250,000
from British Cycling including lighting
for the winter months and £150,000
from Sport England’s Inspired Facilities
fund. Pendle Council, our Nelson
Area Committee and the Lancashire
Environment Fund provided a total of
£150,000 for the new facility. And in
January the Lancashire Environmental
Fund recognised it as one of the best
recreation projects they have supported
this year.
Things we’ve done 2014/15
We’ve also been doing our bit to
tackle mental health, taking a lead in
helping Pendle to become a dementia
friendly community.
Training of staff and councillors to
increase understanding about what it’s
like to live with dementia or care for
someone with the condition, has rolled
out into the community. In November,
pupils from a local primary school
became some of Pendle’s youngest
Dementia Friends.
We’re proud to have been part of
the UK’s biggest ever social action
movement to change perceptions of
dementia. We played a part in meeting
the target of one million Dementia
Friends in 2015, just two years after
the initiative was launched.
In January, when many local families
were feeling the pinch after Christmas,
we launched a competition for
affordable, healthy recipes to feed
four people, costing no more than a
fiver.
Teaming up with our markets and
affordable food guru, Gill Watson, we
asked people to share a recipe for a
meal for four costing a fiver or less.
Winners from across Pendle won £50
bags of healthy food and recipes were
shared on our website.
During the year, we backed a
residents’ appeal through our
Localities Team for a new zebra
crossing in Nelson near to a park and
games area.
Connecting with Lancashire County
Council’s Healthy Streets initiative – a
community-led project to promote
safer walking - we shared the cost of
the zebra crossing with the County
Council.
We played a part in
meeting the target of one
million Dementia Friends in
2015, just two years after
the initiative was launched.
What seems like a small change has
made a massive difference to the
lives of people in the area, especially
children and teenagers, who now feel
able to cross the road in safety.
Also with safety and wellbeing
in mind, we appointed a Rogue
Landlord Officer to tackle serious
hazards in rented accommodation and
address issues such as homes without
hot water. Their work is important,
ensuring homes are safe and healthy
places to live in.
9
Things we’re doing in 2015/16
Things we’re doing in 2015/16
We’ve
introduced
new strategic
objectives
for 2015/16
with a range
of actions
and exciting
projects to
put them into
practice.
Strong Economy
This year we hosted the toughest
stage of UK’’s biggest cycling event
– the Tour of Britain. It was a hugely
successful event which put Pendle
on a world stage, with our stunning
landscape and attractive towns seen
by millions around the world. The free
event attracted 200,000 spectators to
our area.
We’ll be using the dynamic of this world
class cycle race to continue to promote
Pendle to visitors. We’re working to
create a strong legacy, building on our
reputation as the cycling capital of the
North and an area with outstanding
countryside and welcoming towns
and villages.
This year will be a crucial one for
our flagship project – Northlight –
as work has started on improving its
access to the M65. Exciting plans for
major leisure opportunities are getting
underway. Work is starting on the fabric
of this iconic building as it takes shape
to become a major destination for the
North West.
PEARL – our pioneering collaboration
with local developer Barnfield - is
working with a range of partners to buy
land and properties adjoining the site.
This will ensure the right setting and
access for the Northlight as it develops
into a new working, living, leisure
and cultural quarter of regional
significance creating hundreds of
jobs.
Strong Economy
We’ll continue with our programme of
support for businesses through our
Gearing Up for Growth programme.
Since April, we’ve already agreed nearly
£500,000 support for business start-up
grants, graduate recruitment and other
initiatives to boost our local economy.
This important work will continue, with
11
the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership
and Regenerate Pennine Lancashire
helping us to fund more start-up and
growth businesses, skills improvement
and retention here in Pendle.
Things we’re doing in 2015/16
12
Things we’re doing in 2015/16
13
Things we’re doing in 2015/16
In 2015/16 we’ll be adopting Pendle’s
most important planning document.
It will guide development, including
housing and employment land, for the
next 15 years. We’ve made great efforts
to engage with the local community
throughout the development of the Core
Strategy.
Our good work on reducing empty
properties will continue, including the
introduction of a Selective Licensing
Scheme for Waterside. It’s designed to
tackle empty houses and poor housing
standards in rented housing in this area
of Colne.
Introducing selective licensing will help
us address the impact of poor quality
private landlords and ensure Pendle is a
great place to live for everyone.
Strong Services
The challenge of reducing the cost of
council services will be tackled with a
new financial strategy. In partnership
with town and parish councils, we’ll
maintain local facilities and the delivery
of some important local services. This
year we aim to complete the transfer
of play areas, playgrounds and multiuse games areas to our towns and
parishes.
Strong Communities
We’ll make use of the powers provided
by the 2014 Anti-social Behaviour,
Crime and Policing Act and promote
the work of our new Enforcement
Officers.
This year, we’ll be reviewing the
provision of CCTV across Pendle to find
new ways to maintain it for community
safety.
Ensuring Pendle complies with our
obligations under the Prevent Strategy
will be a priority, whilst working with
partners to build cohesion and update
our Cohesion Resilience Plan.
Strong Organisation
Work continues to change the way
we deliver services to meet changing
customer demands. Our Customer
Access Management Strategy
focuses on providing 24/7 access to
services and digital inclusion, improving
access to our services electronically.
A new system will enable more efficient
working across services and between
front and back office systems.
Maximising the potential of our
workforce is vital for us and we’ll
work to implement a new Workforce
Development Plan. We aim to be
recognised as a leading employer
including retaining our Investors in
People Gold Standard following reassessment this autumn.
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Our Finances
What goes where – how 2014/15
Council Tax is split
Here’s a summary of our income and
expenditure for the last financial year,
compared with the previous year.
£1,107.74
£63.65
Council Tax
£240.38
In 2014/15, the average Council Tax bill, before any charges for
Town and Parish Councils, was £1,567.73
Based on a
Band D property.
£155.96
Lancashire County Council
Police and Crime Commissioner for Lancashire
Included within this amount is a charge for Pendle Borough
Council services of £240.38. This has remained unchanged since
2008/09 - there has been no increase in Pendle Council’s part of
the council tax for the last six years.
The chart (shown left) provides a comparison of the different
charges made for an average (Band D) household.
Pendle Council
Our revenue income
Lancashire Fire Authority
Government Grant
£9.9m *
£8.5m **
2013/14
2014/15
Council Tax
£5.2m
2013/14
£5.3m
2014/15
£1.3m
2013/14
£1.3m
2014/15
To pay for the cost of providing services to you, we received
total net revenue income of £15.9m. In comparison we received
income of £16.7m in 2013/14.
Most of our income comes from central government grants and a
third comes from council tax charges.
Other Net Income
Net Changes in Balances and Reserves
£0.3m
2013/14
£0.8m
2014/15
Total 2013/14
£16.7m
Total 2014/15
£15.9m
* includes Efficiency Support Grant of £1.3m
** includes Efficiency Support Grant of £1.0m
15
Our Finances
Our revenue spending We spend money on the delivery of a range of
services. The charts below compare our net
spending on these services for 2014/15 to net
spending in 2013/14.
£m
Policy Unit
2013/14
£1.814
2014/15
£1.862
Central & Regeneration Services
2013/14
£8.440
2014/15
£8.088
Environmental and Recreation Services
2013/14
£6.397
2014/15
£5.964
Total 2013/14
£16.651
Total 2014/15
£15.914
If you want to read more about the Council’s finances,
our Statement of Accounts is available by visiting our
website www.pendle.gov.uk/council finances
Alternatively, you can contact:
Our services financial performance for
2014/15
At the beginning of each financial year, we set a budget (net
of fees and charges) for each of our services. This is what we
expect to spend during the year. The table below shows how
each service has performed against their budget. Overall, we
underspent by £212,000.
Approved Budget
2014/15 £000
Actual
2014/15 £000
Variance
2014/15 £000
Policy Unit
1,882 1,862 (20)
Central & Regeneration Services
7,933 8,088 155
Environment and
Recreation Services
6,291 5,964 (327)
Net cost of services
16,106 15,914 (192)
Other corporate income
and expenditure variations (20)
Net underspend in 2014/15
(212)
Our capital spending
The net spending information reflects the ongoing cost of providing
services and is known as revenue spending. We also spend
money, on for example, buying land and buildings and major
projects which will extend the life of the Council’s assets. This is
known as capital expenditure and the amount spent by the Council
in 2014/15 was £5.8m as shown in the table below. In comparison
the Council spent £5.7m in 2013/14.
Housing Expenditure
Vince Green
Financial Services Manager
Pendle Borough Council
Town Hall,
Market Street
Nelson
BB9 7LG.
Bradley, Nelson
Whitefield, Nelson
Walton Street, Colne
Disabled Facilities Grants
Warm Home Grants
Empty Home Loans / Works
Other housing related projects
T: 01282 661867
E: [email protected]
Environmental and
Transport Projects
£’000
18
2,263
76
750
53
410
187
Domestic & Trade Waste
Collection - replacement bins Flood Alleviation Works, Earby Car Park Improvements Greenfield Rd, Colne Nelson Town Centre - Parking Bays Parks and Recreation
Facilities managed by
Pendle Leisure Trust
Steven Burke Sports Hub
(cycle track) Area Committees Resource Procurement Lomeshaye Bridge Mill Other Capital Projects £’000
94
258
352
644
256
79
30
24
87
Asset Renewal
Parks - Vehicles and Plant Information & Communications
Technology Colne Market 16
67
97
39
Total
5,784
If you would like this information in a way
which is better for you, please telephone
01282 661977.
If you would like this information in
a way which is better for you, please
telephone us.
Pendle Council
Town Hall, Market Street, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 7LG.
Telephone: 01282 661661
www.pendle.gov.uk
Designed by the Communications Team, Pendle Borough Council iJb_11527 10/15.